Most people assume that when it comes to investing, the best thing to do is take a rational, unbiased point of view that doesn’t take feelings into account whatsoever. But is this true? Or are there benefits to giving in to those urges to buy and sell when the logical viewpoint is the opposite

Many New Zealanders feel that they would rather stick close to home and invest in companies based in New Zealand. Besides, it’s more work to research shares in foreign companies, and don’t you have to pay more taxes on shares held in international companies, anyway?

See it in context
It's important to know how your financial adviser gets paid, and the impact that can have on the advice you're getting.
Knowing how they're paid helps you see their advice in context.

Advisers are required to tell you what
fees they receive but these don’t cover all the fees associated with a
product (such as monitoring, administration and trustee fees). Before
you sign anything, make sure you know what fees you’ll pay. An easy way

The best laid plans of investors often go awry (to paraphrase and Anglicise Robert Burns).
A reader has made "an amused comment" about my recent statement that we should always buy shares with the intention of holding them for at least 10 years.

Gearing - which happens when you borrow to invest - comes at a price. And I'm not only talking about interest.
While gearing makes a good investment better, it also makes a bad investment worse. People who gear boost their risk.

I don't get it.
Politicians and economists have been complaining that rental property has tax advantages over shares. It's hardly a new claim. But what are these advantages - beyond depreciation, which is vastly overrated?
Let's look at four categories:

There's more than one reason behind the old investment message that goes like this: If you need your money in just a few years invest your savings conservatively, but if you have a longer horizon take more risk.

It’s Saturday and I’m sitting in a room of around 150 people all eager to learn how to improve their financial position. It takes a lot of commitment to be in a seminar room at 8.30am on the weekend and spend the entire day learning.